On Thursday, July 19, the Kalmanovitz Initiative co-hosted a luncheon entitled Regulating from Below, which highlighted the role Bank Workers can have in Bargaining for the Common Good

On Thursday, July 19, the AFL-CIO, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the CWA, the Committee for Better Banks, Rutgers’ Center for Innovation in Worker Organization, and the Kalmanovitz Initiative hosted a discussion on the importance of organizing bank workers. The event featured introductory remarks from the KI’s Director Joseph McCartin and Sara Burke from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, followed by an overview of Bargaining for the Common Good presented by KI fellow Stephen Lerner and Lisa Donner from Americans for Financial Reform and a panel discussion featuring organizers, bank employees, and union staff members who have been deeply engaged in this work.

Stephen Lerner, Lisa Donner, and Joseph McCartin all highlighted how the campaign to organize bank workers is a quintessential example of unions responding with offensive action in the wake of the Janus decision and Bargaining for the Common Good. Instead of going on the defensive, unions can tackle seemingly impossible targets like Wells Fargo and other financial giants to earn just working conditions for their employees and protect community members from predatory financial practices. All three speakers emphasized how organized bank workers can fight for working conditions and compensation systems that don’t force them to enact predatory sales practices against consumers, thereby reducing the burden large financial institutions can place on working communities.

All five members of the panel emphasized the importance and difficulty of organizing bank workers in an age of increasing financialization and inequality. Meggan Halvorson, an employee at Wells Fargo, spoke about how “the compensation system is not good for employees or consumers.” Reflecting on her experiences as an employee, she discussed how she “started suffering from severe anxiety and migraines” when she started working there. When she informed her therapist, “she sighed and said most of her clients work there too. The problem is systemic.” Shanon Bade and Arnise Porter, organizers with the Committee for Better Banks, discussed the scare tactics used by banks to discourage employees from unionizing and reiterated how their compensation system is used to “create animosity between employees and undermine solidarity.”

Molly McGrath, a growth strategies researcher for the AFL-CIO, commented on the innovative strategy behind the idea of “regulating from below,” and compared financial practices in the U.S. to those in countries where bank workers are organized, noting that these countries have notable reductions in inequality and predatory banking abuses. Graham Steele, a financial regulation expert, discussed how policymakers and regulators have failed to address underlying issues since the 2008 financial crisis: “Policymakers throw their hands in the air about how to measure ‘bank culture’ and oversee these practices. There’s a simple solution: talk to the workers who are on the ground experiencing these issues first hand.” Brandon Rees, Deputy Director of the AFL-CIO’s Office of Investment, offered hope by sharing some of the progress that has been made in organizing bank workers: “Employees under the NLRA have the right to challenge their working conditions, including the compensation structure that exploit both workers and consumers, without being retaliated against. Educating bank workers about this right has been enormously empowering in challenging the injustices we see at financial institutions like Wells Fargo.”

A recent article in The American Prospect provides more information on how Bank Workers can fight against their employers toxic practices, and Market Watch covered a sister event held in New York City.

Below are a handful of the pictures taken throughout the event by Alex Taliadoros and Julian Brunner

130 activists from local unions, worker centers, and community groups around the country gathered last month to strategize how to use the power of labor-community partnerships to make our organizations stronger and advance racial justice.

The conference expanded on the Bargaining for the Common Good strategy, which is about forming long-term community-labor alignments around a common vision for the change we need to see in our schools, cities, and states – then fighting for that change both at the bargaining table and in the streets. In recent years, contingents in Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Paul, Seattle, and Oregon have developed successful Common Good campaigns. This meeting was an effort to build on that work and highlight aspects that truly center racial justice in both their analysis and demands.

The conference was unique in that organizations applied to attend in ‘cohorts’ with other groups from their city or region. That way when it came time to plan campaigns that center racial justice in their respective communities, attendees had a de facto coalition already present and eager to take on unjust systems that profit from racism and exploitation. We were also fortunate to have the support of national unions such as SEIU, AFT, and NEA, which have tremendous experience coordinating Common Good campaigns. They were able to share best practices and many of the Common Good demands from their bargaining efforts.

Participants will take home the plans and alliances they formed at the conference to implement them to win intersectional victories for their members and communities.

You can see highlights of the conference in the photos below and a selection of tweets from those who attended.

We are deeply grateful to SEIU, NEA, AFT, Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and the Arca Foundation. Without their support this conference could not have taken place.

On Wednesday, July 13, nearly 150 representatives of community organizations, unions, think tanks, and universities gathered to look closely at the success of the “Fix LA” movement and discuss the state of Bargaining for the Common Good efforts around the country.

The event was hosted by the Kalmanovitz Initiative and the Rutgers SMLR Center for Innovation in Worker Organization. We are grateful to AFSCME, AFT, NEA, SEIU, the Center for Popular Democracy, People’s Action, Jobs With Justice, and PICO National Network, whose support made the event possible.

The event also marked the release of the Kalmanovitz Initiative’s report on the groundbreaking “Fix LA” campaign, titled Fixing Los Angeles and Remaking Public Sector Collective Bargaining: A Case Study of “Bargaining for the Common Good. The report chronicles the successful efforts of Los Angeles city workers and community activists to unite under a “Common Good” agenda in order to win back thousands of jobs and restore public services. It explores the many challenges and innovations of the campaign and draws lessons for the labor movement going forward. The report was authored by Patrick Dixon, a research analyst at the Kalmanovitz Initiative.

AFT President Randi Weingarten offerred opening remarks.

Panelists and moderators also included:

Saqib Bhatti, director of the ReFund America Project (RAP) and a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute

Patrick Dixon, research analyst for the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor

Peter Kuhns, L.A. Director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

Joe McCartin, professor of history and director of the Georgetown University Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor

Amisha Patel, executive director of the Grassroots Collaborative

Matthew Polk, lead bargainer and community organizer for the Pasco Association of Educators

Amy Schur, campaigns director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

Pastor William D. Smart, President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Council of Southern California

Marilyn Sneiderman, professor and director of the Rutgers SMLR Center for Innovation in Worker Organization

Gilda Valdez, Chief of Staff of SEIU Local 721 and President of the Fast Food Workers Los Angeles Organizing Committee

Maurice Weeks, campaign coordinator for housing justice and Wall Street accountability for the Center for Popular Democracy

The Kalmanovitz Initiative and Rutgers SMLR Center for Innovation in Worker Organization, with support from AFSCME, AFT, NEA, SEIU, Center for Popular Democracy, Jobs with Justice, National People’s Action, and PICO National Network, invite you to an event highlighting the success of Bargaining for the Common Good in Los Angeles and beyond.

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Find out how the Fix LA Coalition united labor and community groups, broke the mold on collective bargaining, and WON BIG – and how the Bargaining for the Common Good strategy used in LA is helping workers and their allies around the country roll back austerity, win new revenues for public services, and build power together.

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The event will also mark the release of the Kalmanovitz Initiative’s case study detailing the many innovations, challenges, and achievements of the Fix LA campaign.

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Bargaining for the Common Good:Lessons from Los Angeles and Beyond.Wednesday, July 13, 20162:30 PM – 5:00 PMReception to follow.Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies640 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington D.C.

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Georgetown University's Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor develops creative ideas and practical solutions for working people that are grounded in a commitment to justice, democracy, and the common good.Learn more